A
software
company called Ptech, founded by a Saudi financier placed on America’s Terrorist List
in October 2001, had access to the FAA’s entire computer system for two years before the 9/11
attack.

Last week, when the National 9/11 Commission
held hearings on The Aviation Security System and the 9/11 Attack, government
and aviation officials described a system unprepared for the events that
unfolded on September 11. None of them, however, mentioned security breaches
involving “Saudi
terrorists in the basement of the FAA.”

Yet that's what happened, according to a
high-level risk analyst who had troubling dealings with the firm.

"Ptech had a couple of very troubling client
relationships," states risk architect and whistleblower Indira Singh, "one of
which was with the FAA. One of the 'persons of interest' in the investigation
had a team in the basement of the FAA for two years."

"P-tech worked on a project that revealed all
information processes and issues that the FAA had with the National Airspace
Systems Agency, NAS," Singh said.

Before anyone breaks out the tin
foil hats, our source for this ‘wild conspiracy theory’ is America’s paper of
record: the very un-wacky NY Times.

A front page article in the New York
Times reported that people who were on the ground in Afghanistan during the
siege of Tora Bora believe that American commanders did not act with anything
like the zeal you'd expect from people whose mission was hunting down America's
Most Wanted Man.

American forces in Afghanistan, the
Times reported, "have not been helped by the suspicion here at Tora Bora, where
bin Laden was all but trapped, that Indecisiveness on the part of American
commanders, or perhaps reluctance to risk casualties, may have helped him (bin
Laden) escape."

"If (bin Laden) fled to Pakistan he
did so over snow-choked mountain trails that were not blocked by American or
other allied troops until after the bombing—an oversight that some of the allies
point to as having squandered the best opportunity of the war to snare America's
most wanted man."

"Within weeks high-ranking British
officers were saying privately that American commanders had vetoed a proposal to
guard the high-altitude trails, arguing that the risks of a firefight, in deep
snow, gusting winds and low-slung clouds, were too high," said the article.

Low-slung clouds? The snow was
too deep?

"Similar accounts abound among
Afghan commanders who provided the troops stationed on the Tora Bora
foothills—on the north side of the mountains, facing the Afghan city of
Jalalabad," continued the Times. One Afghan commander told of pleading with
Special Forces officers to block the trails to Pakistan. "Their attitude was,
'we must kill the enemy, but we must remain absolutely safe," said warlord Hajji
Zaher. "This is crazy."

In a fight to capture the leader of
the forces that attacked America on Sept 11 and took 3000 innocent lives, it is
inconceivable that American Special Forces would back down or insist on
remaining absolutely safe.

So an order to 'stand down,' if one
was given, must have come from above.

Way above.

Bringing Osama bin Laden to justice,
we thought, had been the U.S. objective in Afghanistan.

Apparently, we were mistaken.

We like the totally kewl German cover.

Fixin' to get sued again down on
the MadCowFarm

Barry Seal's long-time associate and
attorney has just sent us a letter, concerning our coverage of him in "Barry&
the boys: The CIA, the Mob, and America's Secret History."

This, despite the fact that an Iran
Contra figure of some note recently referred to us as the author of "the
definitive account of Barry Seal and Mena."

So we don't imagine we'll be able to
"dazzle 'em with the truth."

So now is a good time to bring up a
point that's been on our minds lately: we won't be able to continue doing
hard-hitting real investigative journalism unless we have access to the
resources necessary to avoid being pecked to death by woodpeckers hired by
people who've got woodpeckers on staff.

We need a lawyer in Massachusetts.

Does the MadCowMorningNews
have any barrister fans in Boston? We doubt the ACLU will help. They
appear no more eager to help us than the Republican Nat'l Committee would be.

Call the main MadCow Switchboard if
you can help.

Muckraker George Seldes had it right:
"Tell the Truth, Then Run Like Hell."

You
can count on the fingers of one hand the number of American journalists who have
investigated the 9/11 terrorists activities... Time for a change